Wales are prepared to target attracting more former England players to formally switch allegiance in light of World Rugby's new eligibility regulations.
Since January, international players are able to apply to represent a second national team following a three-year stand-down period if transferring to a country where they, their parents or grandparents were born.
Headlines on players making use of the rule changes have largely come from the southern hemisphere until now, with former New Zealand and Australia players switching to the likes of Tonga, Samoa or Fiji. This is largely intended consequence of the new regulations amid a desire to revitalise the tier two nations in the men's game.
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In women's rugby, the rules have been used in the northern hemisphere, with former England centre Carys Williams-Morris among them, having made her Wales debut - for the land of her parents - on Saturday night against Canada. She had previously been ineligible to play for Wales due to running out for England U20s.
The centre could turn out to be the first of a number of players to switch across the border, with Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham hoping it will show players in the same situation what can happen.
"Carys could show other players that there is an opportunity for them," he said. "It’s great to see. We can grow that player base that we’ve got here in Wales which will obviously help us as we move forward for depth and more selection options as we go towards the next couple of years.
"When I first started speaking to Carys, she made it very clear to me that she wanted the opportunity to play for Wales. When that happened, we wanted her involved in our environment as soon as possible. She’s a big athlete which is great for us. She’s had experience of playing at international level. That opportunity in the red shirt is going to be fantastic."
The Welsh Rugby Union's move to professionalise its women's set-up this year will no doubt make the task of holding onto players who are qualified to represent both Wales and England that little bit easier. A number of Welsh or Wales-qualified rugby talents have headed across the Severn in recent years to play for the Red Roses as it was often the only option available to play professional rugby, at a time when Wales were amateur and many players had to balance rugby with full-time work.
Now, though, Wales has its own pull of professionalism. Twelve full-time and 12 part-time Wales contracts were introduced ahead of the Women's Six Nations, where the investment paid short-term dividends via Wales' third-place finish, their best since 2009. Ahead of this autumn's Women's Rugby World Cup, 29 Wales Women players have been handed six-month full-time contacts and two are on part-time retainers, with several more non-contracted players training full-time too.
"I had wanted to play for Wales and make my family proud and I think it’s important to be honest and transparent with people, but I think anyone given the chance to play international rugby would take it," Williams-Morris has said. "Before I got my England contract, I was working in a 9am-5pm office job, doing admin. I was on a full-time contract with them for eight months in 2019 and won five caps." Read the full interview here.
One could argue that, for dual-qualified players, Wales Women has long been considered like the Pacific Islands and England's Red Roses have been akin to a more elite set-up like New Zealand or Australia in the men's game. A choice, for some, between professional and amateur, having time to prosper or being busy 24/7, giving rugby your all or being pulled in different directions.
New investment, professionalisation and respect for women's international rugby in Wales is starting to change that.
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